Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to aroma generators, and more particularly to a fan-operated aroma generator powered by energy obtained from a solar cell assembly and rendered active automatically when the light flux incident to the assembly exceeds a predetermined level, the generator being deactivated when the light falls below that level.
In order to modify the atmosphere of a room, it is known to discharge therein air fresheners, deodorizers or aromatic vapors which function to mask or supplant the prevailing odor and render it more agreeable. As used herein, the term "aroma" is generic to all such air modifiers; it is not limited to pleasing fragrances or perfumes, and encompasses various scents or odors that act in some way to modulate the atmosphere of a room.
Certain types of air fresheners are appropriate to heavily-used lavatories and bathrooms, or rooms whose atmosphere is contaminated by tobacco smoke or cooking odors. In other instances, as in bedrooms, a perfumed environment may be more suitable. Hence the effect sought when modifying an atmosphere, depends on its initial state and the desired state.
To satisfy the requirements for improving or modifying the atmosphere to create a more agreeable environment, it is known, as in the patent to Koritz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,656, to blow air through a filter saturated with an aromatic liquid compound, use being made of a motor-driven fan for this purpose. Along similar lines, is the air purifier disclosed in the Madjar U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,891 in which a blower forces air through a filter impregnated with a disinfectant or perfume.
The above-identified patents make use of fan motors energized from a power line, whereas in the Corris U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,848, the fan which forces air through a porous cartridge containing a room deodorizer or germicide is battery-operated.
In order to activate the air purifier at different times and for different intervals, the above-identified Madjar patent provides a timed switch for this purpose. Also of interest is the patent to Boydjieff, U.S. Pat. No. 2,614,820, showing a portable vapor-projecting device for perfuming the air and including a timer switch to drive the fan motor for a preset interval. But the timing of this operation is preset and does not depend on unpredictable random actions. Thus in the case of the typical bathroom, there is no way of knowing in advance when the bathroom will be occupied or for how long.
One could, of course, provide an aroma generator of the types disclosed in the above-noted patents with a conventional power switch, so that each time a person enters a room in which the generator is installed, he could turn on the generator, and before leaving the room he could switch it off.
There are, however, several drawbacks incident to the use of such conventional control switches. Thus when a home bathroom is used by a guest, the guest may not know that an aroma generator is installed therein, particularly if the generator is so designed as to assume the appearance of an ornamental object rather than a utilitarian device.
But even if the guest or a resident in the home knows that an aroma generator is installed in the bathroom and turns it on when entering the room, he may thereafter forget to turn it off when leaving. Should the aroma generator then continue to operate, the accumulated amount of aroma then exuded into the atmosphere may be so great as to cause it to spill into adjacent areas or rooms where the bathroom aroma is altogether inappropriate. Moreover, continuous operation of the aroma generator will shorten the effective life of whatever cartridge or pad is used as the aroma supply.
A more serious drawback of aroma generators which derive their power from a high-voltage power line and therefore have to be plugged into the line, is that such devices represent a possible electrical hazard in a bathroom where water in some form is inevitably present, and where an individual standing on a wet floor or in a tub, should he then touch the aroma generator, may receive an electrical shock.
It is for this reason that battery-operated aroma generators are preferable for bathroom environments. But while batteries have a long life when used for powering electrical devices which have no internal mechanisms, such as a transistor radio, when batteries are used to energize a motor, their lives are normally relatively short. As a consequence, the aroma generator can only be operated for a few hours before it becomes necessary to replace the batteries.